


Winter

by anxious_lee, ThatCityInGeorgia



Category: Moominvalley (Cartoon 2019), Mumintroll | Moomins Series - Tove Jansson, 楽しいムーミン一家 | Moomin (Anime 1990)
Genre: Angst, First Kiss, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Moomin is oblivious, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Snusmumriken | Snufkin Has Paws and a Tail
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-02
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-04-06 19:29:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19069177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anxious_lee/pseuds/anxious_lee, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatCityInGeorgia/pseuds/ThatCityInGeorgia
Summary: Snufkin is joined by Moomintroll on his winter adventures.





	1. Chapter 1

Snufkin woke up from his tent one early morning. That morning would be the last morning he spent in Moominvalley before he left for the winter. He had been thinking a lot about how much he would miss his dearest friend, Moomintroll. He usually missed his friend while on his winter travels, but this year he was especially dreading the months in which he would not be seeing him. 

Snufkin thought about the time Moomintroll asked him if he could come along with him on his travels. He had said no despite the horrible feeling it had given him. He knew he needed those months of solitude, even if sometimes he forgot he did. Besides, Moomins hibernated during the winter anyway, so he wouldn’t be missing much.

Snufkin grabbed his hat and began to make his way toward Moominhouse. He walked through the grass he and Moomintroll spent hours lying in, crossed the bridge they sat together on and had many of their conversations, and finally he made it to the front door.

He was halfway through his second knock when the door swung open. “Snufkin! Come on in!” It seemed Moomintroll had been waiting by the front door for him to arrive. 

Snufkin sat at the table with Moomintroll, Moominpappa, and Little My. One seat was left open for Moominmamma, who busy brewing tea to make the few hours before Snufkin left well spent ones. “Hello, Snufkin,” said her warm, motherly voice. 

“Hullo, Moominmamma,” he replied, smiling softly at her.

There was another few minutes of silence until Moominmamma turned around giving everyone a cup, pouring tea into each of them. “Thank you, Moominmamma,” said Snufkin. Moominmamma smiled. 

“Right, thank you Mama!” Moomintroll said quickly, and Moominmamma laughed. 

“You're both very welcome,” she replied. Little My coughed.

“So, Snufkin, do you have any plans for your travels this year?” Moomin asked, breaking the ice. 

“Nope,” Snufkin paused, smiling at everyone’s confused faces. “I usually just go wherever the wind takes me.”

Little My said, “How do you not get lost?” 

“Oh, I can always find my way,” Snufkin looked at Moomintroll and took a sip of his tea.

“Doesn't surprise me one bit, knowing Snuf-” Moominmamma cut herself off. “Oh my goodness, Snufkin…”

Snufkin had popped a sugar cube in his mouth. “He always does this,” Moominmamma seemed distressed by Snufkin's odd behaviour. 

“Snufkin, you know you're not supposed to eat those. You're supposed to put them in your tea,” Moomintroll informed him. 

“I don't like them in my tea,” Snufkin shrugged. “Besides, it's not like you're doing much to stop me,” He grabbed another. Moominmamma groaned and put her head in her hands. Snufkin sipped his tea as if he was the normal one, and everyone around him was crazy.

“What are you?” Little My asked, half joking. Snufkin stopped and slowly put his cup down. 

“Y'know, I'm not really sure. I never really thought about it,” Everyone gave him a bewildered look. Moominpappa looked like he wanted to say something, but he kept quiet. 

Snufkin finished his tea and excused himself from the table. “I better go triple check that I packed everything and take my tent,” He went to the door, but turned around before exiting. “Thank you, again, Moominmamma. Goodbye everyone.” 

“I'm really going to miss him,” Moomintroll sighed.

“Well, you should go talk to him once more before he leaves. I'm sure he would like that,” Moominmamma suggested. 

Moomintroll decided not to question the smirk on her face. “Good idea, Mamma!” He rushed out the door.

***

Snufkin sat on the bridge he and Moomintroll called their own, his dear friend sitting beside him. The two were talking about nothing in particular, just whatever came to mind. Snufkin paused mid-conversation and Moomintroll looked at him quizzically. The silence between the friends was short-lived, however, as Snufkin asked a question which shocked even himself.

“Would you like to come with me this winter?” Snufkin asked, and Moomintroll’s eyes widened and he grinned, hopping up and down. Snufkin smiled softly, his nerves easing.

“Do you really mean it, Snufkin? I can come too?” Moomin asked, and he didn’t wait for an answer before hugging Snufkin tightly then running off toward Moominhouse. “Oh, I can’t wait to tell Mama and Papa! Little My will be so jealous! I have to start packing immediately!”

Snufkin watched Moomintroll skip happily over to Moominhouse, a smile on both their faces. “You’re very obvious, Snufkin,” Snufkin turned around quickly to see Little My smiling slyly at him, hands on her hips. “I mean, I’m related to you and you haven’t ever invited me to come with you,” she continued.

Snufkin turned away, blushing slightly. “It’s different with Moomin,” he said softly. Little My rolled her eyes. She ran off in the direction of Moominhouse, no doubt to tease Moomin as well. Snufkin suspected it was one of her favorite pastimes, teasing the two.

Snufkin sat back down on the railing of the bridge and played his harmonica. He’d already packed, so he didn’t need to do anything besides wait for Moomintroll, who happened to be running back over to Snufkin. “Snufkin!” he called. Snufkin nodded his head in Moomin’s direction, still playing his harmonica. Moomin took a moment to catch his breath, leaning on the railing of the bridge.

“So,” Moomintroll asked after a minute or two, “why did you ask me to come with you this winter?”

Snufkin stopped playing before answering, “I was thinking about a while ago when you asked me if you could join me,” He pocketed his harmonica and turned to Moomintroll. “I know I said that I needed my space after spending the rest of the year here in Moominvalley, but a little company never hurt anyone,” Snufkin shrugged as if it was no big deal. He wished he could tell Moomin the real reason why he was letting him come along, but what he didn’t know wouldn’t kill him.

Moomintroll nodded. The two friends sat together on the bridge for a little while longer before it began to snow. Winter had officially arrived.

Snufkin shivered. “We better be leaving soon,” He stood up and motioned for Moomintroll to do the same. He led him up the path that exited Moominvalley.

Right when they were at the very edge, and Moominhouse was no more than a blue rectangle, Moomintroll stopped and stared at it for moment. “Moomin?” Snufkin noticed and asked, “Are you alright?”

Moomintroll smiled, “Never been better.”

At last, they were out of Moominvalley. It was just them, and the adventures to come.


	2. Chapter 2

Snow began to fall harder as Snufkin and Moomintroll walked in silence. A sense of awkwardness filled the air, as Snufkin was used to being alone at this time and wasn't quite sure what to say. 

"Snufkin, when are we going to set up camp?" Moomintroll asked.

The sudden sound made Snufkin jump a bit, but nothing too noticeable. "Well, I wanted to get out of the snow first, so it might be a while," he responded. He could sense Moomintroll was getting bored, and he wished there was something he could do about it. Moomintroll was very excited about coming along with him, and he didn't want that to be for nothing.

As they continued on, the snow began to calm down, and soon it was no longer falling. Unfortunately, they were still treading through ankle-deep snow. Not as bad as it could've been, but still not ideal.

A few minutes after the snow had completely stopped, Snufkin noticed the lack of Moomintroll's presence next to him. He was about to turn around, to see if Moomintroll had found something interesting or had tripped, when he felt something cold hit the back of his head, knocking his hat off. He turned around to see Moomintroll holding a ball of snow. A snowball, if you will.

Snufkin had an idea. He furrowed his brow, though he was putting on the look of anger; he could never really be mad at Moomintroll. 

Moomintroll seemed to notice his expression, and a look of fear made its way to his face.

Snufkin smiled and quickly scooped up some snow, more of a clump than a ball. Within seconds, it travelled through the air and hit Moomintroll square in the face. 

Moomintroll blinked a few times before laughing, and Snufkin began to laugh as well. Moomintroll quickly made another snowball and threw it in the other’s direction, hitting him in the face. “There,” he said, failing to stifle his giggles, “now we’re even!”

Snufkin shook his head to get the snow off, still smiling. He opened his eyes to see Moomintroll, eyes closed, still laughing. His fur was nearly as white as the snow beneath them, and as he opened one of his eyes, Snufkin noted that his eyes were much more blue and prettier than the sky. Snufkin’s face grew warm and he looked down at the ground, blaming it on the cold.

Another snowball hit Snufkin and he looked up at Moomintroll, who had an armful of them. “Stop thinking so hard, Snufkin!” he yelled, throwing another, which Snufkin dodged. “Come have fun!” Snufkin smiled once more and scooped up some more snow and threw it at Moomintroll.

The two proceeded to have a snowball fight in the middle of a clearing in the woods, laughing the whole time.

Snufkin threw a large snowball at Moomintroll, knocking him over. Snufkin laughed, but he froze after a few seconds too long of Moomintroll continuing to lay in the snow. “Moomintroll?” Snufkin asked quietly into the silence, his tone flooded with concern. No response came from the Moomin. Snufkin’s brain immediately went to the worst things that could've possibly happened.

Snufkin ran over to Moomintroll, the crunching snow beneath his feet the only sound in the clearing. “Moom-” he was cut off by a snowball hitting him in the face. Snufkin wiped the snow away and looked down at Moomintroll, who was alive, well, and laughing at Snufkin, who was slightly shaking with a quickened heart rate. “Don’t ever do that to me again!” he said playfully, throwing a snowball at Moomin. Despite his tone of voice, Snufkin couldn’t ignore how his tail swished in relief.

Snufkin held out a paw and helped Moomintroll up. Moomin looked down at Snufkin and said, “This was fun, but we should probably get going if we want to get out of the snow before nightfall,” Snufkin nodded. He looked down and noticed that he and Moomintroll were still holding paws. “Your face is red, are you okay, Snufkin?” Snufkin nodded, taking his paw away from Moomintroll.

“It’s cold out here, that’s all,” Snufkin mumbled, turning the other direction and picking up his bag, which he had put down sometime during the snowball fight. “Where’s my hat?” he asked. Snufkin tried to turn around to face Moomintroll before a familiar weight went on his head. Moomintroll had put his hat back on his head. Snufkin smiled gently at him and he grinned in return.

Moomintroll shivered and crossed his arms. “Ah shit, you’re right, it is cold,” he said. Snufkin’s tail flicked in annoyance. He usually didn’t like when people swore near him, but he’d make an allowance since it was Moomintroll. Silently, Snufkin took his scarf off and wrapped it around Moomintroll’s neck. “Oh! Snufkin, are you sure? I mean, your face is still pink,”

Snufkin nodded, looking away to hide the blush on his cheeks. “Of course I’m sure, Moomin,” he said, starting to walk away, “you need it more than I do, anyway,” Moomintroll hugged Snufkin from behind, stopping them from continuing to walk. Snufkin smiled softly.

Snufkin gently pried Moomintroll’s paws away from him and continued walking. As much as he liked the hug, the two had to keep walking or else they’d never get out of the snow. The snowball fight they had had really kept them back. “C’mon, Moomin,” Snufkin called over his shoulder, “if we keep walking, we should be out of the snow and be able to set up camp by dusk.” 

***

It was a bit past dusk when Snufkin stopped and looked at the sky. "We're not as far from the snow as I'd usually be, but it's getting late. We should probably set up camp."

"What exactly is 'setting up camp'?" Moomintroll asked.

"Oh, just setting up the tent and getting a fire ready,” Snufkin replied, sliding his backpack off his shoulders and placing it on the ground. “Something I find myself doing a lot during the winter.” 

Snufkin told Moomintroll to go and collect firewood while he put the tent up. After that, they had dinner and got ready for bed.

The two sat in the tent talking, with the soft glow of the lantern illuminating their faces.

“Today’s been fun!” Moomintroll grinned, which made Snufkin smile in return. 

“That’s good. I’d hate for you to regret coming along, considering it’s going to be a while,” Snufkin laughed softly, despite the fact that this was a genuine fear that he had. He really didn’t want this to be a waste.

“I don’t think I could ever regret coming along. All that matters to me is that I get to spend more time with you!” Moomintroll smiled again, lighting up the room.

Snufkin glanced over to Moomintroll. He was looking up at the ceiling of the tent, a soft smile still on his face. Snufkin couldn't help but smile as well. His chest tightened and he felt butterflies in his stomach. I must be ill, Snufkin thought. It was the only way he could think to explain these feelings. The way his heart pounded and the deep blush that kept making its way to his face whenever Moomin was near. Yes, that’s it; I’ve gotten an illness. Nothing more, he thought, nodding slightly to himself.

Snufkin frowned, deciding not to dwell on the thought too much. He turned the lantern off and darkness engulfed the two friends. As they laid side by side in comfortable silence, Snufkin couldn’t help but let his mind wander to his dear Moomintroll as he drifted off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

It was a quiet morning that started the second day of their journey. Snufkin woke to see the canvas wall of his tent staring back at him. That was normal, that's what he always woke up to in his tent. There was something that felt different, though, but he couldn't put his finger on it. 

After laying there motionless for another minute or so, he decided it was time to get the day started. He went to roll from his side onto his back, but something held him back. 

He looked down to see two white, fuzzy arms wrapped around his torso. In his tired, groggy morning state, he was incredibly confused.

Then he remembered he wasn't alone on this trip.

Snufkin's heart did something he didn’t know how to describe. Why it happened, he was also unsure of. 

Well, whatever it was, he couldn't just lay here and wait for Moomintroll to wake up, because that would cause another plethora of issues. 

That, and he was really hungry.

"Okay," Snufkin said under his breath. He was trying to think of the best way to go about this. 

He had proved earlier that he couldn't push through, so that wouldn't work.

He tried to pry Moomintroll's arms off of him, and quickly learned that Moomintroll had a death grip. Snufkin didn't want to risk hurting him or waking him up, so he moved on to his last idea.

With a bit of effort, he managed to shuffle himself upward and successfully made it out of Moomintroll's arms. He noticed he felt a bit colder than he had before, and a little emptier, too.

Snufkin concluded that it was just because he was hungry. Nothing else. I mean, what else could he possibly be? He couldn’t think of anything.

He subconsciously took a few more seconds to look at Moomintroll, then left the tent to get breakfast started.

***

Snufkin was just about done making breakfast when Moomintroll crawled out of the tent, sort of dragging himself, it seemed.

"Good morning," Snufkin said gently, smiling.

Moomintroll yawned, rubbing his eyes and stretching. "Good morning," he replied groggily.

Snufkin had been sitting on a log in front of the campfire. He had set another log across from him for Moomintroll to sit at while they ate. 

Moomintroll walked to the log, but instead of sitting on it, as Snufkin had intended, he started pushing it. He pushed it until it was next to Snufkin's log, and then sat down.

Alright, Snufkin thought. His heart did that thing again.

He got a bowl for Moomintroll, and the two ate their breakfast in silence.

Snufkin was used to eating alone in silence, but something about Moomintroll being there made it feel just a little more comfortable.

***  
Snufkin put the used bowls away in his bag. 

"Are you.. gonna wash them?" Moomintroll asked.

"Have to find a river or a lake first," Snufkin responded, zipping up his bag.

"Oh yeah, that makes sense," Moomintroll chuckled to himself.

Snufkin smiled at that. "Would you like to go on a morning walk before we take the tent down?"

"Yeah!" Moomintroll said excitedly, jumping up. Everything about this whole situation was exciting to him, though. 

Snufkin put his bag in the tent and motioned for Moomintroll to follow. 

"Aren't you afraid that it's gonna get stolen?" Moomintroll asked.

"Yeah,” Snufkin replied. "But I try not to think about it too much."

He could tell Moomintroll was learning a lot about him just from these first couple of days of coming along. He wasn't quite sure how comfortable he was with that.

The walk started off silent; the silence fell somewhere between comfortable and awkward.

Snufkin wondered what Moomintroll was thinking. The worrying thought that Moomintroll wasn't enjoying himself and wanted to go home had been lingering with him since they left Moominvally and was only growing. He kept telling himself that Moomintroll had to settle into this and that this was just new for him, but the thought was stubborn. He did really care about Moomintroll, more than he would let himself believe, and he didn't want to waste his time.

"Are you alright, Snufkin?" Moomintroll asked.

Apparently Snufkin's thoughts had been reflecting into his facial expression. That, or Moomin had just gotten so good at reading him he could just tell when Snufkin wasn't entirely happy. Moomin was good with emotions, anyway.

"Yes. Just.. thinking."

There was silence once more. This time it was just uncomfortable. Almost sickeningly so. It seemed they both really wanted to speak, but had no idea what to say.

To no one’s surprise, Moomintroll was the one to break the silence.

“So… uh… where are we headed?”

Snufkin hesitated to respond. His brain had gone on auto-pilot, so he wasn’t entirely there. It took a few seconds to process what Moomin had said. “Oh, yeah, we’re going to a small town. The people there are incredibly kind. I usually celebrate Christmas with the townspeople there. I like to spend most of my time alone, but I do enjoy spending some special occasions with others. I usually turn down their gifts, though.” 

Moomin liked the sound of this. He looked a bit confused at the same time. “I thought… I thought you went to a different place every year? Y’know, like to explore new places and experience new things.”

“I guess I’ve never really explained this to you, have I? Never had a reason to, I suppose… Well, there’s only so much south I can go, so I have a few different ‘routes’ that I take. Sometimes I diverge from the routes to see something new, but I usually end up back on them. I don’t always celebrate Christmas with the town we’re going to. This is pretty much my only ‘route’ that ever see other people on. I decided to go this one this year because I figured you’d have more fun celebrating Christmas with the townspeople. Actually… have you ever really celebrated Christmas?” Snufkin asked.

“Well, we tried once,” Moomintroll responded, “but he didn’t show up. I do have a pretty good idea of it, I think, though! You’ve mentioned it a couple of times, and Too-Ticky talks about it sometimes.”

“Ah, I see,” Snufkin nodded, giving his friend a strange look after the first comment. “I’m absolutely positive you’ll love it, Moomin. People exchange gifts, eat food, and most importantly, it’s a great time to spend with friends and family. There’s much more to it, of course, but you’ll quickly figure it out as soon as it comes along.”

Moomintroll’s ears perked up. “Wow, that does sound fun!”

Snufkin smiled at this. He really couldn’t wait to see Moomin’s face when the day would arrive.

“Wait,” Moomin paused the excitement for a moment, for he had yet another question. “I thought you said Moominvalley was the only place you had friends and could call home?”

“Oh, well…” Snufkin had a slightly guilty look on his face. “If I’m being honest, I don’t really know the townspeople. I don’t remember their names, or even the name of the town, really. I wouldn’t consider them friends, just people I see sometimes,” he laughed lightly. “Aside from the Woodies, I suppose…”

“The Woodies? You mean those kids you stole from park keeper a few years ago?”

“Well it sounds bad when you put it like that…” Snufkin laughed and scratched the back of his neck. “But yes, that’s them. They still enjoy seeing me, though I had hoped their affection for me would have rubbed off by now. It hasn’t… in fact, they call me ‘mom’.”

Moomintroll burst out laughing. “Why?”

“I have no idea!” Snufkin laughed harder with him. “They just started doing it, and I sort of went with it.”

Snufkin’s worries from before had almost completely disappeared. 

“I’ve never heard you talk this much, Snufkin,” Moomintroll commented.

Snufkin colored slightly and smiled. “That’s probably because I don’t usually talk this much.” He put his paw to his neck. “My throat does feel a bit sore.”

The two laughed once more. Their conversation continued effortlessly. It wasn’t about anything in particular, but was enjoyable nonetheless.

They eventually made it back to the tent and began to disassemble it.

After they were done, they began to start their walk to their next destination that Snufkin said was very close to the town. Moomintroll could hardly contain his excitement.

Snufkin felt a warm feeling in his chest. He couldn’t deny that he really did love Moomintroll.

Platonically, of course.


End file.
